Sunday, June 22, 2008

GEORGE TOWN: It has been almost four months since he took office and Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy is unhappy that he has been invited to only two of the 28 Tamils schools in Penang.“I am in a position to help, but I can’t if the schools do not seek me out,” he said. “If I am not invited, how then am I going to find out about their problems and help them?” he asked.Dr Ramasamy alleged that there seemed to be an “unwritten rule” that state exco members in charge of Tamil schools should not be invited to the schools as they were under the Federal Government’s purview.The two schools Dr Ramasamy had visited so far were in Prai and Batu Kawan, of which he is assemblyman and MP respectively.The visit to the Prai Tamil school was at the invitation of its parent-teacher association while the second was on a Saturday, not during school hours.Dr Ramasamy, who is state Economic Planning, Education, Human Resources, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman, said one of the biggest problems at Tamil schools was the lack of land and space.He said he could help the schools overcome these if he was given a chance.Meanwhile, a state education department spokesman said there was no such “unwritten rule”.“We do not know why the Tamil schools are not inviting Dr Ramasamy,” said the spokesman, adding that schools were required to write to the department if they sought to invite state government leaders, including the Deputy Chief Minister, exco members and assemblymen.He added that it was the prerogative of the schools to invite such leaders.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks May 2008 in Johor that Malays stood to lose much in the new political environment where non-Malays were unafraid to make demands.Dr Mahathir told the crowd of some 1,000 in Johor Baru that if Malays keep quiet they will lose their rights and other races will take over.former prime minister who had introduced the Bangsa Malaysia concept now appeared to be backtracking on his stand.So who is Racist?

MIC deputy president G Palanivel today slammed former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad for accusing party chief S Samy Vellu of being a racist and warned such statements could fan deeper racial sentiments.MCPXIn a statement released today, Palanivel (photo, right) also said that the former prime minister's comments on Hindraf were inaccurate and insensitive to the sentiment of Indians in the country."It is sad to note that Mahathir is not aware of the fact that Hindraf is not only made of Tamil people but includes many non-Tamil and even non-Hindus."He (Mahathir) is wrong when he said Hindraf leaders only represent Tamil racists," said Palanivel in defence to Samy Vellu who has recently joined in the bandwagon in advocating for the release of five Hindraf leaders detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).Palanivel delivered a stinging rebuke to the former premier by advising Mahathir "to remember his own roots" before making such statements.While Palanivel did not elaborate on this, he is likely to be referring to Mahathir's forefathers, who are from South India.It is widely believed that Mahathir's father, a school teacher, had migrated to Malaysia from the southern Indian state of Kerala and subsequently married a Malay woman.From Malaysiakini

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has exposed his own deep racist sentiments by sympathising with Hindraf, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.The former prime minister said that by calling for the release of Hindraf leaders, Samy Vellu was supporting a group who represented racist Tamils who still looked to their old masters – the British – to protect them, and didn’t believe in Malaysian institutions.“They speak not just of Indians, but of Tamils as a separate race. They and their apologists are racist to the core.“Seeing the death and destruction inflicted on Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers, they threaten to bring this kind of violent racial politics to Malaysia,” Dr Mahathir said in a posting on his blog www.chedet.com yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth chief S.A. Vigneswaran and several other leaders of the wing have been asked to vacate their posts with immediate effect as they have passed the age limit.Party secretary general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the decision to ask them to vacate their posts was taken at the party’s central working committee (CWC) meeting nearly two weeks ago.“The party’s constitution states that a Youth leader or members in the Youth wing should not exceed the age of 40. When they reach their 41st birthday, they need to vacate their positions in the Youth wing,” said Subramaniam, who is also Human Resources Minister.Several other Youth leaders, including deputy chief S. Ramis, secretary M. Kumaresan, information chief K. Raj Kumar and youth representative to the CWC S. Murugesan, would also be given letters requiring them to relinquish their positions in the youth wing, he said.Asked to comment on the ruling, Vigneswaran said: “We will consider our options and legal avenues only after receiving the letter.”Party sources said the top leadership wanted another Youth representative to the CWC, T. Mohan, to run the wing until party polls in June next year. – Bernama